


In My Sights

by Politzania



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Carnival, Competence Kink, M/M, The Gang’s All Here - Freeform, pining!bucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-12 00:15:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19936873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Politzania/pseuds/Politzania
Summary: At the end of the school year carnival,   Bucky’s crush has the best idea: taking on the rigged midway games.





	In My Sights

**Author's Note:**

> Name of Piece: In My Sights  
> Square Filled: Bucky Barnes Bingo Y3: Rifle  
> Also WinterIron Week Day 2: High School. AU  
> Pairing: WinterIron (Tony x Bucky)  
> Rating: Teen  
> Warnings: none  
> Summary: At the end of the school year carnival, Bucky’s crush has the best idea: taking on the rigged midway games.

C’mon, Buck. Just tell him. Otherwise you’re gonna mope around all summer.” Steve huffed out, trying to keep up with Bucky as they crossed the school parking lot on their way to the end-of-the-year carnival. 

“And how would that be worse than the way I’d feel if I did tell him, and he’s like, ‘Oh, that’s nice. Thanks.’?” He was fairly sure Tony wouldn’t be an outright jerk if he learned that Bucky had a huge crush on him; but it would make things awkward. Really, really awkward. It was just easier to not say anything at all. 

“You never know til you try. Hey - there they are!” Steve waved at their friends who had taken over one of the picnic tables under the shade trees that separated the parking lot from the field beyond. Tony was sitting on the table itself, phone in one hand and gesticulating wildly with the other. Despite being almost the youngest in their group, he was charismatic as hell and drew people in like moths to a flame.

“-- can’t believe they’re getting away with it!” Bucky caught the last part of Tony’s complaint, his voice barely carrying over the sounds of the carnival just the other side of the trees. An occasional scream or shout punctuated the hubbub and Bucky wondered, just for a moment, what it would be like to be on one of those rides with Tony. He imagined the two of them putting their hands up in the air at the top of the coaster and bringing them down, fingers entwined. Or maybe sneaking a kiss or two at the top of the ferris wheel, just like in the movies. 

“What’s up?” Steve asked, sliding in next to Clint and Natasha. Carol and Maria were sitting on the other side of Tony, while Rhodey and Pepper sat against a nearby tree. Bucky stood beside them and leaned one shoulder against the tree, trying to look interested, but not too interested. 

“Hey, guys,” Tony said, flashing Bucky a smile and quick wave. “So, you know that the school lets the carnival set up here for a share of the ticket sales, right? That and part of the profits from the midway. Well, turns out the games are rigged.”

Clint shrugged. “So what? If anything, seems like the school would get more money that way, right?” 

“Out of our pockets,” Steve responded, his eyebrows drawing together in a frown. 

“Exactly - and it’s not fair.” Tony mirrored Steve’s frown for a moment before a lively, mischievous grin lit up his face and made Bucky’s heart skip a beat. “I did a little bit of digging and found a website that tells you how to get around the rigged games. And we’ve got the particular skillsets here to beat them. 

“How so, Tony?” Steve asked, the frown replaced by alert interest. Tony might have been the one they all gravitated toward, but Steve, despite his slight stature, was the one they followed and trusted. 

“Well, let’s start with the milk bottle toss. First of all, they’re made of metal, not glass.” 

“So they don’t break when you hit them.” Pepper commented matter of factly. 

“Yes, but they’re also opaque so you can’t tell they’re weighted on the bottom and almost impossible to tip over. Unless your throws are fast and accurate and aimed right at the center bottom.” 

Tony turned to look at Maria. She was their star pitcher on the softball team and -- if she hadn’t already been selected for the Air Force Academy -- could have had a full ride scholarship anywhere she pleased. “You up for the challenge, Rambeau?” 

“They don’t call her Photon for nothing,” Carol squeezed her girlfriend tight and kissed her on the cheek. 

“You’re not too shabby yourself, Captain.” Maria shot back. Carol played left field and could hurl the ball right into the catcher or baseman’s glove from pretty much anywhere in her territory. 

“I see where you’re going, Tony,” Steve nodded in approval. “What else do you have?” 

“Alright - next up is the balloon darts,” Tony continued, scrolling down on his phone. “Two things going on here: under-inflated balloons and dull darts. You’ll have to look closely to see which balloons look the fullest--” 

“And find a way to sharpen the points.” Natasha interrupted, holding up an emery board. “Clint and I have this one. I’ll hold the darts and be ‘filing my nails’, while Hawkeye here picks out the best targets.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth,” Tony replied. “Beautiful and smart - a deadly combination.” Natasha preened a little at the compliment and Bucky wanted to growl. Which was stupid; Tony flirted with almost everyone — old or young, guys or girls. Besides, it wasn’t as if Bucky had any kind of claim on Tony, no matter how much he wanted one. 

“Let’s see what we have left,” Tony scrolled down a bit more. “Ah ha, the basketball toss. Smaller-than-standard rims bent into an oval shape to fool the eye. But we’ve got two ringers here, don’t we?” Both Rhodey and Pepper were notorious for their three-point shot accuracy. “This says to arc the ball high and with more power than you’re used to. Think you two can handle that?”

“Nothing but net. Got it, Tones.” Rhodey nodded as he and Pepper high-fived one another. 

“What about me?” Peter swung down from the tree the picnic table was sitting under, landing easily next to Tony. He was Pepper’s cousin and still in middle school, but he’d become kind of their group’s mascot. “What can I do?” 

“You, my arboreal acquaintance, are going to team up with this guy,” Tony thumped Steve on the shoulder,” and take on the Ladder Crawl. They’ve only got a single anchor point, and they’re not pulled very taut, so it’s gonna be tricky. But you’ve got great balance, kid and as long as you stay focused, you should be okay.” 

Peter made a face, and with all the tactlessness of a kid, said. “But Steve can’t climb worth a darn!” 

“His job is to make sure the whole setup looks sturdy enough - no frayed ropes, or loose knots, anything like that.” Tony turned to Steve. “You’ve got a great eye for detail, Rogers. In fact, it might be a good idea for you sniff around in general. See if there’s anything else fishy going on that we have to account for. ” 

That was something else Bucky admired about Tony; while he and Steve had butted heads when they’d first met, they’d learned to appreciate each others’ strengths while acknowledging weaknesses. They worked better together as a team -- they all did. 

“Sounds like a good plan, Tony. Anyone have any questions?” Steve looked around, taking an extra moment to make eye contact with Bucky, as Tony hadn’t mentioned his name yet. Bucky just shrugged, trying to play it cool, even as a feeling of dread started to build in his gut. Didn’t Tony think he could do something to contribute?” 

“Okay - so I’ll stake each team to twenty bucks’ worth of games.” Tony pulled rolls of tokens out of his messenger bag and started handing them out. “The object is to snag the best possible prize. Get ‘em where it hurts. We’ll meet back here at the end of the night to see how everyone did, okay?” He made a shooing gesture. “Now, go forth and prosper.” 

“Whatever you say, boss,” Carol said, throwing Tony a quick salute as she and Maria walked away.

“No, actually he’s the boss,” Tony called after them, pointing at Steve who was heading to the other end of the midway, Peter bouncing and chattering alongside. “I just pay for things and come up with stuff to make you guys look good.” Which was true, when Bucky thought about it. Tony always topped off the pile of cash tossed in the middle of the table, or made up the difference in Venmo. And while he was the one who had the ideas, it was Steve the rest of the group followed. 

Rhodey and Pepper had already taken off, and as Nat and Clint ambled away, Clint said something about deep fried pizza, making Bucky shudder a little. Tony was poking around on his phone again, so with a quiet sigh, Bucky turned to walk back to his bike. Tony scrambled off the picnic table and grabbed his elbow. “Hold on, sunshine -- I didn’t forget you. Not by a long shot.”

The grin Tony had been wearing softened, and the casual endearment made Bucky’s pulse race a little. “In fact, I saved the best for last.” He pressed a roll of tokens into Bucky’s hand, seeming to linger for a moment. 

“Rumor has it you’re a heck of a marksman. Wanna wrap your hands around a long barrel and make it pop off?” Tony waggled his eyebrows and winked lasciviously, startling a laugh out of Bucky. He never knew when to take Tony seriously, which was part of why he was crushing so hard on the guy. 

They walked over to the shooting gallery together, where a row of paper targets festooned with red stars swung slightly in the breeze. “Shoot the star and win big!” read the sign along the top of the booth. The stuffed animals, mirrored screenprints and light up toys were some of the nicer prizes along the midway, and the booth attendant was quick to pick up on their presence. 

“Hey there, guys. C’mon over. I got stuff that your girlfriends are gonna love. All ya gotta do is pick up the gun and pull the trigger a few times.” Hearing the practiced patter, Tony ambled over and Bucky followed suit. 

“So, how exactly does this work?” Bucky suspected it wouldn’t be nearly as easy as the carny said it was. 

“Shoot the star out of the target. Every speck of red. You get 60 shots for five tokens.” His reply was both rote and distracted; he was already looking for more marks. Bucky raised an eyebrow; the tokens were a dollar apiece, and most games were only two or three tokens. That meant they had enough for two games apiece; not much chance to make a dent in the booth’s inventory.

“Any time limit?” Tony asked, a look of simple curiosity on his face; but Bucky knew him well enough to know he was working on an angle. That said, Bucky had a hard time seeing how they could even win one game. You might be able to get most of the star shot away, but the remaining shreds of paper would just be bent back by a passing BB instead of being torn off. It was simple physics. 

“Not unless there’s a line waitin’.” At the moment there were four guns out of eight total being used; so that didn’t seem like a problem. 

Tony leaned close to murmur in Bucky’s ear. “There’s a grey circle that runs right around the star. Shoot along that instead.” The gentle puff of Tony’s breath against his cheek nearly took Bucky’s own breath away, but he kept it together enough to nod in reply. This might just work after all. 

Affecting a careless air, Bucky broke open the roll and tossed five tokens on the counter, tucking the rest in his pocket. “I’m in.” 

The carny’s grin was practically feral as he handed over the BB rifle and a cup full of shot. “Good luck, kid.” 

Bucky set the safety before loading about two dozen BBs into the magazine. He checked the sights; he could tell they were off, but not by how much. Looks like he’d lose a few shots just trying to get the alignment figured out. But Tony clearly had faith in him, and Bucky really wanted to make a good impression. 

Bucky leaned over and propped himself on his elbows to provide the closest thing to a stable platform he could get. At a strangled gasp from Tony, he turned to look over his shoulder. “You okay, champ?” 

“Um, yeah.” Tony’s cheeks were flushed and he didn’t quite meet Bucky’s eyes. But any wild speculation as to what Tony’s reaction meant would have to wait for later; Bucky had a job to do. He took a deep breath, flipped the safety to the ‘off’ position and pulled the trigger. 

It took a half-dozen shots for him to get the sights figured out, a scattering of holes in the target the result. But then Bucky aimed for that grey line, working from the three o’clock position clockwise all the way around. He took his time, but only stopped to reload. The carny was busy with another mark and didn’t come back to check on Bucky until he was almost done. 

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” He stared in confusion as Bucky made his last few shots. 

Tony cheered as the center of the target fluttered to the ground, then practically snatched the paper out of the carny’s hands as he reeled it in for inspection. “Check it out - no red left at all! You did it, Buck! You won!” Tony’s enthusiasm was infectious; it took everything Bucky had to not pull his friend into an embrace. 

The carny opened his mouth as if to argue, then closed it as he noticed the other marks watching and listening. He narrowed his eyes, pressing his lips together tightly for a moment before saying, “Double or nothing, kid?” 

Bucky looked at Tony questioningly; after all, it was his money at stake. “Go for it, sunshine. I believe in you.” His companion’s soft reply, combined with the intensity of his gaze made Bucky’s breath catch in his throat. 

Bucky dug out five more tokens, but before handing them over, he asked, “I can use the same rifle, right?” 

“Sure, kid. But let me see it for a moment.” Bucky handed the rifle over, and the man flipped a switch on the side and handed it back with a smirk. “Now it’s in semi-auto mode. Still interested?” 

Bucky gritted his teeth, then slapped the tokens down. “Set me up.” He planted his feet and bent back down over the counter, settling the stock of the rifle against his shoulder. “Any rule saying you can only shoot at a single target?”

“Cocky SOB, ain’t‘ ya?” The carny snorted. “You take out two stars with sixty shots, you get your pick of prizes on the top row.” These were the items that players normally had to trade up for, handing over five regular prizes for the chance (just the chance!) to win big. Bucky doubted that they gave away more than one or two of those a month; this was just the kind of thing that had gotten under Tony’s skin to start with. He glanced up at the giant stuffed animals and cheap electronics and spotted the perfect gift. 

“Done.” Bucky ignored the curious looks of the other players, instead letting his whole world narrow down to the trigger and the target. The short bursts of fire meant his circle would be more of a polygon, but the principle held. Tony trusted him, and he wasn’t about to let his friend down.

Bucky kept count as best he could, each trigger pull sending four or five pellets tearing into the paper. A couple of people besides Tony applauded when he finished off the first target, but Bucky wasn’t feeling it. By his calculations, he’d used at least twenty-eight of his sixty shots, and maybe as many as thirty-five. The odds were against him getting that second star, but he had to try. 

The center of the target was hanging on by just a few fibers. Bucky pulled the trigger one more time, fully expecting a flat ‘click’ indicating the chamber was empty. But lo and behold, there were two pellets left and his aim was true.

A large crowd had gathered behind him, and the resultant cheer was unexpectedly loud. Tony threw his arms around Bucky and planted a kiss on his cheek. “You were magnificent, sunshine! Take a bow!” 

Bucky ducked his head in thanks before turning to the carny, who had a serious case of ‘if looks could kill.’ “I’ll take the dog on the top left.” The huge stuffed animal had big brown eyes, just like Tony and a sign around his neck that said, ‘I lick you a lot.” The guy shoved it at him with a scowl. Bucky plastered on the fakest smile he could manage and thanked the guy cheerfully.

Tony was practically vibrating with excitement as they walked away. “That was friggin’ amazing! I mean, I figured you’d kick ass and take names, but honest to god, the way you doubled down seriously triggered my competency kink. Best first date ever!” 

Bucky stopped dead in his tracks. “Uh,did you just say, ‘first date’, Tony?” 

“Well, yeah, that’s why I came up with the idea in the first place. I mean, it’s kind of fun to play Robin Hood, but do you have any idea how hard it is to pry Steve away from your side? I’ve been planning this for weeks and oh my god I never really asked you, did I?” 

The utter chagrin on Tony’s face after his outburst was downright comical; but Bucky was too stunned by the thought that Tony had been planning all this just to spend time with him to even consider laughing. 

“I would have said ‘yes’,” he replied softly. “In fact, you kinda beat me to it. I was gonna make this guy,” Bucky held out the dog, “do the dirty work.” 

Tony took the stuffed animal from Bucky, his face lighting up as if Bucky were handing over a precious treasure. “This is really for me?” 

“Yeah.” 

Tony ran a hand over the sign the dog wore. “Well, I don’t know if licking is on the table at the moment, but how about a kiss?” 

“Happy to oblige, darlin’.” Bucky threw an arm over Tony’s shoulder and pulled him close. 


End file.
